David Sellens III: Former Miner earns spot on USC track and field team

Friday

Dec 27, 2013 at 10:32 AM

By Daily News Sports Editor Bill Choy@SDNBillChoy

David Sellens III has made the most out of the opportunities that have come his way as both an athlete and student at USC.
The former Yreka Miner standout in both football and track and field recently found out he had officially made the USC track and field team in the discus and the hammer throw as a true freshman.
Sellens earned a state berth in the shot put this past May for the Miners after winning a North State title in the event.
Originally, Sellens went to USC to play football for the Trojans as a preferred walk-on on the offensive line but decided during fall camp that it was not the right fit for him and left the team.
“It's been a really nice development for me,” Sellens said about having the chance to compete in track and field at USC. “I feel honored to have this opportunity.”
After all, he said, while known for its football program, the Trojans have a great reputation in track and field as well. He pointed out that USC has had numerous All-American and Olympic athletes, including Olympic gold medalists, and is proud to be part of a tradition like that.
While Sellens trained with the team for most of the fall and even had his biography recently put on the USC track and field website, Sellens did not get the official word he was on the squad until Dec. 18, he said.
Sellens said it was certainly a relief to know he made the team. “I was pretty happy,” he said. But, he added, while it appeared there was a very good chance he would make the team he was pretty nervous and anxious until he learned the good news.
David is currently home in Yreka visiting his family and plans to returns to Los Angles and the USC campus in a few weeks.
While he earned a state berth in the shot put in high school, Sellens said that at this time he will not compete in the event in college and will focus on discus and the hammer throw.
Depending on how well he throws and what his marks are will determine how much he competes this year and if he will be on the traveling team, Sellens said. If he redshirts, he said he will still be able to compete at home events or ones in the L.A. area.
Sellens admitted it was a difficult time for him after he left the football team but said things are a lot better now, and he feels he has found his niche at college.
He was friends with a student that was on both the football and track teams, who one day brought him to meet the USC throwing coach, eventually getting an invitation to try out. Sellens said that trying out for the squad “is very competitive” and added he was proud that the coaches saw enough from him to earn a spot.
He has developed a close bond with his fellow throwers and has enjoyed going to school in sunny southern California, he said.
Sellens said that the USC throwing coach, Dan Lange, has mentored and coach a many All-Americans and Olympians and said he has learned so much from him.
It also has helped that two All-Americans in the hammer throw, one man and a woman, are still on the team, and it has been very positive to train with and learn from athletes of this caliber.
Sellens said that he has not competed in the hammer throw before but added very few folks in high school do this very challenging event.
The hammer throw “involves two swings from a stationary position, then three or four rotations of the body in a circular motion using a complicated heel-toe movement of the foot,” according to a overview of the event on Wikipedia. “The ball moves in a circular path, gradually increasing in velocity with each turn with the high point of the ball toward the sector and the low point at the back of the circle. The thrower releases the ball from the front of the circle.”
One person that Sellens said gave him a lot of needed encouragement after he left the USC football team was Richard Culp, the father of Miners football and track and field head coach Orlyn Culp, who had been a huge Trojans sports fan for years. He told Sellens it was a great opportunity to go to a school like USC and to keep striving to work hard and to make the most out of his situation.
Richard Culp was planning to attend USC to play baseball when the Korean War broke out, and he went to serve his country, Orlyn Culp said. While he never did play for the Trojans, Orlyn said that his father always had a deep love for USC and was excited to hear one of his son's players was competing in sports at USC and was pleased he had a chance to compete for a spot on the track team,
Sellens said that through Orlyn, who he has a close bond with, Robert would relay positive messages about him being at USC, and Sellens said it meant a lot to him.
“He was an huge encouragement to me,” Sellens said.
Sadly, Robert, who had been ill for awhile, passed away on Dec. 17. Sellens said it was important for him to pay his respects and was at Robert's funeral in Chico.
Sellens expects to finish his first semester of college with a 3.0 average and is attending USC on a Ford Family Scholarship.
He said as a kid, he struggled in school, but thanks to the help and encouragement from his teachers, coaches and others throughout the years, he became a good student.
Thinking back to when he was a kid struggling in school to going to USC, he said he is humbled and amazed at how far he has come.
Sellens is currently majoring in sociology but said he could still change majors.
He added he knows he wants to have a job where he can help others, such as teaching or counseling, the way he was helped and said he would like to work with high school kids in some way with his job.
“”I want to be of service to others,” he said.
Sellens will compete in the outdoor season for the Trojans, which begins in March.
His biography can be found at www.usctrojans.com/sports/c-track/mtt/david_sellens_870477.html.

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